Whether it is for personal development or career advancements, the ability to play with the computer codes opens up a whopping avenue of opportunities. There’s a lot of buzz about kids wanting to learn how to code lately. Parents have been pushing their kids across the globe for the same. In today’s digital world, coding is a fundamental skill alongside math and reading, but too few kids have the opportunity to learn to program because it is rarely taught in school. Coding allows kids to be creative and builds confidence. It drives innovation. It is really important for a person who is interested in technology to learn how to code and improve their skills.
Here are some of the ways that will help you in improving your coding skills along the summer -
> Choose Wisely!
There may be varied reasons for you to learn to program. So, your reasons for learning to code should determine your choice of the language that you want to learn. Nonetheless, whatever language you start with does not have to be the only language you ever learn. In order to develop, expect to learn different programming languages. As a beginner, choose a language which has a large community base and is not redundant, so that the issues that you face while learning can easily be resolved. Programing languages such as Python and JavaScript are some of the most
popular languages for the first time programmers, as not only they can be used for a wide array of programming tasks also there are a lot of pre-written projects in both the languages which can further aid the learning process.
> Learn by doing!
The best way to learn programming is by doing it. There is no substitute to it. It is hard for a beginner at first. You can ease the burden by taking a few online classes on coding which are conducted by a few institutes, for example, Coding Blocks. Read and understand other’s code and get an idea about how it works. No matter how you read any programming language, you’d never get through without hands on experience. Build your own blog in PHP, build a JavaScript plugin, get a feel for how these things work, so you’ll have the confidence. Remember improving skills usually enhances productivity.
> The play-way!
A great way to improve your coding skills when learning to code is by taking up online coding challenges. Solving different types of challenges and puzzles can help you become a better problem solver, learn the complexities of the language, learn new algorithms, and a lot more! It also helps in gaining more knowledge and insights about the neoteric
developments. Competitive spirit is a great motivator towards better and performance.
Some of the popular coding challenge websites are:- HackerEarth, HackerRank, HackerBlocks, CodeChef. All these websites have fairly easy questions for a novice to start with. For beginners, HackerBlocks is highly recommendable as it provides online challenges for several disciplines such as Algorithms, Mathematics, Machine Learning and more!
> Practice a lot!
Practice a lot in the starting. Keep on solving simple problems on
coding sites until you get the confidence to do your own project. Modify existing programs written by people, this lets you work on many
more big programs than you would have time to write yourself from scratch, which
helps a lot with those skills that only apply to large programs.
> Approach the problem step-by-step!
A given problem, complex in nature, is nothing but a combination of
number of smaller problems, therefore instead of getting down to a code
as a whole, you can always divide it into smaller subsets.
Example, if you are trying to create a complex system, start working on it by
identifying various stages and dividing them into smaller and manageable
segments.
One of the simplest ways to do this is to just write down the logic of your
solution to a specific coding challenge using plain English, essentially
pseudo-coding.
> Start contributing to open-source projects!
Participating in various coding communities is one of the ways to improve
your coding skills. The open source community provides a great
opportunity for budding programmers to create their own space; and by
contributing to various projects, programmers can improve their skill-set
and get an opportunity to interact and learn a lot from the like-minded
people. It also increases your chances of getting noticed by potential
employers.
GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket are some of the most popular platforms for open
source collaborations.
> Online Courses
If things still do not fall into place, you can always seek online/offline help.
This will help you learn coding
professionally and will help you in getting to know your mistakes.
These online coding courses not only aid the knowledge gaining in a quick
and an efficient manner but also helps you in improving your coding skills in
a professional way.
A lot of institutes
have introduces online courses for a short duration, which can help in saving time and
make the utmost use of your knowledge and the time that you spend.
Some of the places offering proficient online coding coaching are Coding
Blocks, Udemy, Udaicity, CodeAcademy. Online Courses (C++, JAVA, MACHINE
LEARNING and many more!) at Coding Blocks aim towards interactive
learning for aspiring and experienced coders!
> Socalize!
Working one-on-one with other coders in the community is the best and an
unparalled way to improve your coding skills. Try and collaborate with as
many developers as you can in order to boost up your programing skills. Also, find some peers with whom you can review
your code. People of similar skill levels can teach each other a lot.
> Find mentors!
Find some good mentors and let them review your code, and try to do
some pair-programming with them. This will help you to learn their approach towards programming and will help you to understand your shortcomings. Work under their
supervision and your coding skills will definitely boost up.
> Accept your errors!
Errors are your best friend. Don’t worry if you’re stuck
somewhere or getting some errors while writing the code. Every error has the ability
to teach you something that books can’t. Get some help from a mentor, or try 'StackOverflow'!
